Settlement of lawsuit puts OUSD schools under microscope

OCEANSIDE —— A surge in new state education laws designed to
give students adequate access to textbooks, better classrooms to
learn in, and more qualified teachers could cost more time and
money for the school district, officials said this week.

The new laws stem from the Williams v. State of California
lawsuit, which was filed by education and civil rights
organizations in 2000 on behalf of poor students statewide who did
not have access to textbooks, whose schools fell into disrepair,
and who were being taught by teachers without all of their teaching
credentials.

After the state government spent a reported $18 million to fight
allegations that schools serving low-income students were
ill-equipped for learning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar settled the
lawsuit in late 2004.

The result?

Districts statewide now have to take a close, hard look at what
they give their students to learn, where students sit every day and
who's teaching the classes.

The Oceanside Unified School District will begin its study on
Monday morning at Ditmar Elementary, one of the four campuses
targeted by the new laws. Laurel, Mission and Libby elementary
schools will also be examined at some point for whether the schools
are good settings for learning.

The new requirements will force the district to purchase new
books immediately and possibly to rearrange its construction
timeline for schools that need repairs, officials said.

"This essentially can be looked at as a good thing," said
Oceanside Unified Superintendent Ken Noonan. "What this lawsuit is
requiring is not unreasonable. We want to make sure schools are in
tip-top shape. We have an excellent teaching staff."

Making adjustments will not be difficult for the district,
Noonan said.

"The problem," he said, "will be our timelines and money."

Equal access for poor students

Specifically, schools that have been categorized by the state as
having a history of low standardized test scores and a high number
of poor students will have to adhere to the new laws.

For four campuses in the Oceanside district, the laws translate
into surprise visits by county education officials starting next
month, "customer complaint" forms in every classroom, and extra
money —- albeit not enough money —— to pump into schools that need
to be brought up to par, officials said.

According to a district study on the Williams settlement, the
state is allocating a one-time total of $142 million to schools
affected by the law, with most of the money slated for the state's
worst schools.

Oceanside officials said they did not yet know how much money
the district will receive. However, the district is not planning on
receiving much because, of the four schools affected by the new
requirements, only Ditmar would be eligible for money.

But no money is in the bank, said Associate Superintendent Robyn
Phillips, adding that the district shouldn't wait for the cash to
comply.

"We're starting these inspections now," she said. "Not every
classroom is in good repair and we need to look at that."

Schools under the microscope

On Monday, starting with Ditmar, the district will begin looking
at the condition of classrooms, the number of textbooks and the
teacher's qualifications, said Associate Superintendent Ed
Heatley.

"Some of these are going to be a major issue for us," Heatley
said.

Heatley said that the district is well off when it comes to
teacher qualifications.

But some classrooms at some campuses will be found in bad shape
because of leaks from recent rains and because the district's $125
million bond construction money —— approved in 2000 —— hasn't
reached all schools that need repairs, he said.

Ditmar, like the three other campuses highlighted by the state,
is slated for a massive modernization project in the next two
years. The new laws may force the district to put Ditmar, one of
the district's older schools, at the front of the line for repairs,
officials said.

As for instructional materials, the district has over the last
few years purchased new textbooks that are aligned with state
standards.

However, the district found that it is lagging behind when it
comes to science books for elementary children, according to Mary
Urelius, the district's director of curriculum and instruction.

In addition to examining the district's four targeted schools,
every teacher districtwide will need to place compliant forms in
their classrooms for students and parents to fill out if they have
an issue with the state of the classroom, the textbooks, or the
teacher.